One of the things I love about working in a library is handling books, looking at covers, reading titles. Her Royal Spyness, Cheddar off Dead, Death Bee Comes Her, Assault on Pepper, Up to No Gouda. Even without a dog or cat on the cover to catch my attention, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto stood out. Her title, Dial A for Aunties stood out, too, but The Library District didn’t have enough copies! 

At the meeting, our first responder called the book delightful, a fun story, cleverly written. Our next mentioned what turned out to be common opinion – Vera wasn’t immediately likeable, but she grew on us. Saying “She was a bossy bitch” actually made us laugh. Another member liked how much a difference Vera made in everyone’s lives, but he found the story a bit verbose.

We marveled at all the cooking Vera managed. One of us was fascinated by how she drew so many people together in the face of calamity. He was particularly touched by how Vera won over Emma. Another member found Vera’s skill at manipulating people remarkable. We wondered at what one member called the halo effect. When I looked this up later, the halo effect^[i] is considered cognitive bias or an error in reasoning – but the application is fitting because the way Vera presents herself and their biases made people respond to Vera in a way that was effective.

We weren’t completely won over, though. Several people thought Emma was too precocious for a two-year old. One member did not have sympathy for Vera and was pleased that the author focused on other characters’ viewpoints. We weren’t convinced about Vera’s powers, but that halo effect . . .

We had some pleasant side conversations. Julia’s re-found passion for photography was inspiring. One of us has taken up writing down words – inspired by another member’s example. Most of the unusual words in this book are not English. We talked about color contrasts and keeping the misspelled sign: “Vera Wang’s World Famous Teahorse.”

(Spoiler alert) Most of us were surprised by the identity of the murderer and only two of us figured it out. No one wanted any of the main characters to be guilty and unless the author brought in a ringer – who could it be? One of us asked if anyone had considered Tilly? This made us pause – he would have been an interesting choice! But would that have fit the cozy expectation? We certainly loved how surprised Tilly was, seeing his mother in a hospital bed surrounded by people he didn’t know she knew!

Was this a cozy mystery?^[ii] Amateur sleuth, focusing on community, minimal violence and sex, often including a romance – think Miss Marple. One of us realized that a book he had come across fit this description exactly, adding the common element of a dog or cat. When he looked up the author, he realized there were 20 books in the series. I wish I could remember the name. Send in or bring your cozy-mystery recommendations!

In the meantime, Vera’s next mystery is out: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on A Dead Man). Also, checkout the comments for some nice responses from members who couldn’t attend the meeting.

• WORDS:
• Congee: rice porridge “a steaming bowl of freshly cooked congee.” Page 190
• Astaga: Oh, my! (an interjection) wordhippo.com^[iii]

• TEAS:
• Jin Xuan Oolong Tea. I brought these tea bags to the meeting but did not serve tea. According to Vera, tea must be brewed properly. If you’d like to try it, I still have some. I can’t vouch for the quality. This is the tea Vera served to Riki. “Ah, Jin Xuan, one of the best type of tea. Is also called ‘milk tea’ because the taste is so creamy and sweet, almost like milk.” Page 46
• Yeo’s Crysanthemum Tea Drink. I brought this canned drink for us to try. It was lightly sweet and plain.

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^[i] https://www.britannica.com/science/halo-effect

^[ii] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/the-cozy-mystery-explained/

^[iii] https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/indonesian-word-0416d4a9e0a7f893615e0ebd49eb97bea9b36bfd.html